Padua is the third largest municipality in the region by population (preceded by Venice and Verona) and the most densely populated.

Padua was defined capital of 14th century painting by the art critic Vittorio Sgarbi: the 14th century pictorial testimonies, among all, the cycle of Giotto in the Scrovegni Chapel, make it crucial in developments of western art.

The fourteenth century artistic splendor was one of the fruits of the great cultural fervor supported by the Signoria of Carraresi who made it one of the leading centers of the pre-humanism.

In Padua, between the 14th and the 15th century, developed in conjunction with Florence, an imposing cultural trend devoted to the ancient that turn into the Renaissance of Padua, which will influence the artistic structure of the entire northern Italy.

From 1222 is home of a prestigious university that is one of the oldest in the world.